Annette Johnson Bloghttp://annettej.cbvegas.com/blog/sort_entrydatetime-desc/ Scenario's Following a Rate HikeWith the December Federal Open Market Committee meeting drawing near, it is useful to revisit some of the themes that may play out and offer a little background on the Fed policy rate, mortgage rates, housing price and commercial property value sensitivity to shifting rates.Bloomberg notes that Federal Reserve (The Fed) policy makers inserted language in the October statement that indicated that it might be time to raise the benchmark lending rate in December, reiterating that these increases would be gradual. Now it is not as if the Fed hasn&rsquo;t cried wolf at least a couple of times, with some members implying that the Fed may move the rate, only to have Fed Chairwomen Yellen deliver public statements that the Fed would not yet do so, based on its data dependent analysis of the economy and inflation. However, eventually the Fed is likely to move off of these extreme lows and many question, what will this precipitate throughout the housing and commercial property markets?Firstly, nobody knows with certainty, however a gradual increase will most likely offer the markets an opportunity to adjust with some order. The Fed is isn&rsquo;t fighting inflation like it had to do in the 1980&rsquo;s and shock the economy out of in inflationary nightmare. Since the financial crisis, the Fed has been doing the reverse, fearing deflation and appears to have hoped for a bit higher inflation than was being registered by the CPI measures. Now before we can get into the details of this subject, we need a little background.The primary policy rate used by the Fed is the Federal Funds rate, which is a very short-term rate and is the interest rate that depository institutions trade balances held at the Federal Reserve, often on an overnight basis. The Fed does not directly change mortgage rates, auto loan rates or consumer loan rates. The Fed can influence these rates, but supply and demand and the pricing of risk (traditional market forces) and the role of expectations of inflation and government guarantees remain the mechanisms for which these rates shift. This is made more obvious when one looks at mortgage interest rates and the federal funds rate. Federal funds rates have been flat but mortgage rates move all the time. A bump in the Federal Funds rate does influence the market in a couple of ways; one, it increases the overnight borrowing costs, which may cycle through other debt instruments, albeit not step-for-step, and secondly, it signals to the public that The Fed believes the economic signals are strong enough to move off of the zero bound (unless one believes The Fed hasn&rsquo;t done a good job). So in one sense the policy move is a response to improved economic conditions.Why do we care about all this? In our minds, we ask how sensitive is housing demand to mortgage rates? Could a rate increase hijack the housing recovery we have been in? (Zafar, 2014) study this problem using survey data and their findings suggest that &ldquo;housing demand is strongly affected by fundamentals (household wealth and income) and also the quantity of available financing (especially for first-time home buyers). The price of available financing (that is, the mortgage rate) may play a less important role than commonly thought, although we emphasize that our stylized setting omits certain factors, such as payment-to-income constraints, that may in reality affect households&rsquo; ability to qualify for loans.&rdquo;&nbsp;So, while rates do matter, fundamentals may matter more. That doesn&rsquo;t mean homebuyers won&rsquo;t freeze up momentarily if rates spike, but a gradual ratcheting up should be tolerable if interest rate increases are mild as long as fundamentals like job growth and other wealth creators continue to improve. Further, users of new fixed-rate instruments are likely to feel less of an impact than variable financing users or existing variable financing users, which may see an increase from what is essentially an artificially low rate (individuals with these should be careful to check when rates are scheduled to change). Another factor coming from the supply side stems from mortgage availability. The Fed policy has helped mortgages become more affordable, but not necessarily more available. Zooming out at the history of 30-year mortgages, it&rsquo;s still obvious that mortgage payments are likely to represent a smaller proportion of income than many prior years. Finally, consumers have a lot of longer-term debt but are being paid a pittance on deposit balances. Higher interest rates may in fact help some consumers, particularly retirees that have significant cash and certificate of deposit holdings. So, our view is that an increase in the Federal Funds rate is unlikely to alter the housing market directly and our concern would be from issues arising from a distorted fixed-income market, which offers a less reliable guide as a market signal or exogenous events that could influence the economy from a different channel, such as a large sovereign debt default or natural event.&nbsp;&nbsp;BibliographyZafar, A. F. (2014). The Sensitivity of Housing Demand to Financing Conditions: Evidence from a Survey. New York: Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports, no. 702.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-18/fed-inserted-language-to-stress-potential-for-december-liftoffhttp://annettej.cbvegas.com/blog/11446/scenario's-following-a-rate-hike/ Mon, 23 Nov 2015 12:00:00 -0800CBPR July Press ReleaseColdwell Banker Premier Realty (CBPR) continued its momentum through June of 2015. A plethora of new online innovations were deployed throughout the company by the CBPR Marketing &amp; Creative Services Department and tech partner, realistiQ. Following CBPR&rsquo;s bolstered online presence is CBPR&rsquo;s markedly successful sale and listing trend. June saw 367 sales and 163 listings, and to date July already has 71 sales and 24 listings. CBPR anticipates this high level of productivity continuing through the summer months, as the market has demonstrated a trend with demand and overall activity sparking around luxury condominiums and high-rise living.&nbsp;Both www.lasvegashomes.com and agent websites received upgrades to their designs and are now &ldquo;easily managed&rdquo; through iQ Web--a realistiQ owned content management system (CMS). Both lasvegashomes.com and agent web sites offer property search functionality as well as a home valuation tool and much more. lasvegashomes.com also offers the ability to sign up and receive periodic reports generated by CBPR&rsquo;s strategic services department.CBPR agent and company e-marketing systems have also received enhancements. realistiQ has simplified the process to send emails from its e-marketing system contained within iQ Office, and the CBPR marketing team has provided a boost in the variety of email content available to agents.In addition to e-marketing content, the marketing department also began publishing a multitude of educational articles for realtors and the public on the CBPR blog at www.lasvegashomes.com/blog. These blogs will be pushed to all agent websites without penalization from Google. With these enhancements and the ongoing application assistance classes for agents addressing nearly every aspect of utilizing the new software to maximize its potential, CBPR continues to empower its agents through IQ Office which creates a one-stop-shop for their personal blog, email-marketing management, and lead-statistics.In conjunction with the technology&rsquo;s implementation, empowerment of a different grain surfaced at CBPR with a female self-defense class June 12. It focused on women protecting themselves in potentially dangerous situations, on and off the job, and educated over 50 agents and staff.In addition to the new lasvegashomes.com, a separate website for Strategic Services, www.commercialrealestatevegas.com, was deployed by CBPR&rsquo;s marketing department to bring CBPR&rsquo;s commercial listings to the digital front. The web site also showcases other Strategic Services offerings such as Market iQ, a custom reporting service, among other services such as developer and investor services.Coldwell Banker Premier Realty will continue to reinforce its reputation for creating market-savvy agents over the foreseeable future as it approaches the launch of a direct mail geo-farming initiative in August. This initiative will enable CBPR agents to target the areas of Las Vegas they specialize in--helping maximize their success and their client&rsquo;s experience.&nbsp;&ldquo;People are going to be seeing a lot more of us and our agents&rdquo;, stated Jesse Olive, Director of Marketing &amp; Creative Services of CBPR. &ldquo;We and our agents offer superb service, backed by unmatched training and technology, and the people of Las Vegas need to know more about how we can help them with all of their residential needs whether it is buying or listing a single-family home, a high rise, a luxury property, a commercial property, deal sourcing, the list goes on.&rdquo;Olive elaborated on CBPR&rsquo;s focus on luxury and high rise real estate in Las Vegas, &ldquo;We are focusing more heavily, but not only, on luxury and high rise properties in Las Vegas for a number of reasons. The buyer can get substantially more in luxury and urban high rise properties per sq. ft. in Las Vegas, than they can in most cities internationally, so that along with the surging economy and development in Las Vegas has created a global interest--especially among the affluent. Additionally, we have a number of agents who are successfully listing high rise properties and utilizing the resources that Coldwell Banker Previews and CBPR provides them to give them and their clients the competitive edge. We have a global network of Previews luxury Real Estate Agents who bring potential buyers to the table, and I actually just accompanied a number of agents to a Coldwell Banker Previews class in Indian Wells, California.&rdquo;One of Coldwell Banker Premier Realty&rsquo;s most prestigious luxury listings on the market is listed by top producing luxury agent, Diane Varney, and happens to be the home of CEO of Steelman Partners and architect of Resorts World, Paul Steelman. The 7,123 sq/ft Italian-inspired villa located in Canyon Gate at 8608 Scarsdale Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89117 was designed by the architect himself and took a full two years to construct. Varney will be holding an open house July 25, 2015. For more information on the open house, email Diane at diane.varney@cbvegas.comAbout Coldwell Banker Premier RealtyColdwell Banker Premier Realty in Las Vegas, Nevada is ranked among the nation's leading real estate brokers in sales and innovation as well as the top 1% of Coldwell Banker companies nationwide. CBPR, acquired by Bob and Molly Hamrick in 1998, has three offices in Southern Nevada (Summerlin, Henderson and Centennial Hills) and presently engages over 230 agents. In addition, Bob Hamrick served as senior vice president and broker of City Center Realty Corporation and is recognized nationwide as an expert on the Las Vegas real estate community.http://annettej.cbvegas.com/blog/8530/cbpr-july-press-release/ Wed, 05 Aug 2015 01:51:59 -0800Exploring Las Vegas Luxury: Anthem&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Located South of the strip in the pleasantly removed city of Henderson sits Anthem, a planned community boasting one of the widest price and size varieties available out of Las Vegas&rsquo; luxury neighborhood options. Rather than catering to one type of buyer, Anthem includes both condominiums as well as a plethora of single-family homes. Prices range from 300,000 on the low end and custom estates shoot past 3,000,000. Anthem, and Henderson for that matter, are known as &ldquo;family-friendly&rdquo; and offers a cultural removal from the throng of tourists and entertainment Las Vegas offers. This being said, for those working near the strip or outside of Henderson, Anthem is a mere 3 minute drive from the 215.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Further ensconcing this development in Nevada&rsquo;s natural beauty and promoting a tranquil refuge is the wildlife preserve that borders Anthem to the South and East. The McCullough mountain range sits under 5 miles away offering not only boundless outdoor activities, but also a majestic aesthetic to home. While nearly every luxury community around the Las Vegas area sits on or near a golf course, Anthem boasts not only the Anthem Country Club, but also Revere Golf Club. Revere itself encompasses the Lexington and Concord courses, both of which were designed by Billy Casper and Greg Nash.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; For families, Anthem has 11 parks in the nearby area and along with them comes extensive recreational sport activities for every age group, helping foster the &ldquo;community&rdquo; Anthem has worked hard to achieve. The District at Green Valley Ranch and Town Square host shopping and dining options at Anthem&rsquo;s fingertips and are immediately accessible as a resident, only minutes away. Anthem is broken down into 10 smaller communities, each offering their own set of amenities, view, and home style. The most elite by far are the homes in the gated Anthem Country Club, with a private golf course, tennis courts, a fitness center, and round the clock live security. At a minimum in Anthem Country Clubs, 1,200 square foot homes are available and the largest crest 16,000 square feet. This community within Anthem is by far the most expensive, with the majority of custom luxury homes in Henderson here. &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Anthem Highlands is similar, yet without the faction of extreme luxury (6,000 sq-ft and up) that Anthem Country Club has. Highlands homes range between 1,275 sq/ft and 5,005 sq/ft making it mid-luxury. Nearly all homes in Anthem are legacy/luxury planned and the majority were built by Del Webb between 1999 and 2005, albeit the custom homes in Anthem Country Club do not fall into any specific specification. Coventry is the third luxury community within Anthem, its selling point is often the extensive recreational space- 66 acres of parks including a roller hockey rink, basketball courts, volleyball courts, and landscaped trails. Coventry also has an award winning primary school. Anthem&rsquo;s opportunities for family life make it an ideal choice for buyers seeking a somewhat removed location from Vegas to raise children, or have them. Country Club, Highlands, and Coventry all serve family friendly amenities and a safe environment with a wide price range. Bolstering the family-friendly reputation, Henderson was ranked #2 by Forbes in &ldquo;America&rsquo;s Safest Cities.&rdquo; &nbsp;http://annettej.cbvegas.com/blog/8239/exploring-las-vegas-luxury:-anthem/ Thu, 30 Jul 2015 02:46:03 -0800Las Vegas Residential Rental Report SUMMER&nbsp;- 2015Late spring and early summer is a great time to have a rental on the market. Many job related moves occur during this time of year and often families are looking to be settled before a new school year begins in the fall. As a result, marketing times are often shortest during this period and landlords tend to have the most influence in getting top rents. If you are contemplating putting a rental on the market in 2015, we would advise trying to make it rent ready by September. The accompanying days on market illustrates this strong seasonality.Using the multiple listing service as a proxy for market wide themes and in terms of supply and demand, most of 2014 saw more leases signed than new listings entering the market. Currently listing activity has expanded into 2015, however active for-lease inventory is near the lowest it&rsquo;s been since we began tracking these levels in 2012. Interestingly, single family rental pricing has been climbing gradually market wide. Year-over-year increases in the average rent per-square foot has recently been nearly four percent, which is pretty substantial for a market that is typically flat. There may be some quality differences associated with these rents however. Many in the last wave of investors, which included institutional owners either organized as REITs or backed by Private Equity shops, have been doing pretty solid rehabs on their properties as part of a branding effort and are potentially helping to drive up rent prices through perceived value. Additionally, the labor market has been improving in Las Vegas and household formation appears to be growing again, driving some demand for rental housing. Our own rental pool is confirming this trend too and owners have more pricing power than they have had for a long time. Finally, while Census housing data presents a lot of challenges as a general proxy the Census Housing Vacancy and Home ownership gives us a picture of what rental vacancies are looking like. In Las Vegas we have seen a major turnaround and the lowest rental vacancy rate observed since 2005. Since the Census has had some methodological changes, we aren&rsquo;t focusing too much on any specific number, however the trend suggest significant movement towards lower vacancy rates.Source: Mlxchange, Coldwell Banker Premier Realty. *Bank owned listings not under contract. Note: Averages tend to be greatly influenced by outliers. Condominiums/townhomes exclude high-rises.The information and opinions in this report are believed to be reliable and has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Coldwell Banker Premier Realty makes no representation as to the accuracy or completeness of such information. The opinions expressed in the report constitute the judgment of the authors only and may not reflect the opinion of Coldwell Banker Premier Realty. This report is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. This report may not be circulated or copied without our prior written consent.http://annettej.cbvegas.com/blog/6492/las-vegas-residential-rental-report/ Wed, 01 Jul 2015 05:49:57 -0800A Simplified Take on Home WarrantiesColdwell Banker Premier Realty (CBPR) recently met with American Home Shield to help provide our readers with a general understanding of home warranties. Home warranties, from a simplified view, protect homeowners from appliance, HVAC, and plumbing failure. This form of insurance can help protect homeowners from those sudden high-cost breakdowns of your washer and dryer, ductwork, and even electrical issues.Finding your own contractor, let alone a reliable one that will get the job done within a reasonable timeframe, is difficult and expensive. The more dire the situation, toilets flooding and electrical failures, the quicker you need someone at your home fixing the issue.&nbsp;This limited set of options oftentimes is astronomically expensive. &nbsp;Anyone who&rsquo;s had a plumbing issue and had to privately find and call a contractor knows how expensive the process is. What home warranties do is help by taking the search for solid contractors off your plate, as well as shield you from paying enormous sums of money due to the immediacy of the fix.&nbsp;Another important facet to remember when it comes to home warranty insurance is the incentive as a seller. CBPR strongly advocates for seller&rsquo;s to consider buying a home warranty package as a buying incentive. When asked about the subject, every CBPR agent asked agreed that the benefit and message a warranty sends will push interest in purchase far higher. As a seller this demonstrates good faith once you move out and an unexpected perk for potential buyers.&nbsp;As a current owner the necessity stands with how expensive contracting work is, particularly with the short timeframe in which labor is required. American Home Shield guarantees a contractor at your home within 24 hours of your claim- it is imperative especially with plumbing issues that issues are dealt with as soon as possible in order to avoid complications and further damage from the initial problem.&nbsp;For further information on home warranties available and what is covered in each call Stephanie Ellis at 702-285-2311.http://annettej.cbvegas.com/blog/6202/a-simplified-take-on-home-warranties/ Tue, 30 Jun 2015 02:18:06 -0800